London Essays

Getting Together: Industrial Clusters

London’s trades have long clustered together, creating distinct business districts. Financial and insurance services are relatively narrowly focused in the City and West End, with Canary Wharf (1) as a comparatively new outlier. Restaurants, hotels and other food services are also concentrated in the centre of the capital, while construction businesses are spread more widely, with clusters in Stratford and Wembley reecting large-scale developments across the city. Retail businesses are spread more widely still, with large new shopping centres in Brent Cross (3), Westeld (4) and Westeld Stratford (5). A common trend is that businesses across all sectors are concentrated in the West End (2). The district plays an outsized role in London’s and, indeed, the UK’s economy.